Kaiba comes along to stop Atem buying anything with spikes on it. The day continues into a private booking at a parfait shop, and his friends will later have questions.
This is a translation of an originalArtificial Intelligence work.
Original Title: 06 交際王
Original Author: Gemini with 葉人(@Hathor_yuki)
Personal site: https://prideshipping.sakura.ne.jp
"Hey — did you see that…? Adviser Aten just said to the President, laughing, 'Heh, you are as impatient as ever, Kaiba'…"
"Eek…! What did the President say back!?"
"He shouted 'That move of yours was factored in!', and then for some reason the two of them went straight into checking the spec for the VR space in development…"
"How does anyone hold a normal conversation with him… If he just looked at me straight on it'd put a hole in my stomach."
While the staff watched in fear and trembling from a distance, Atem himself was entirely unmoved.
To him, Seto Kaiba was the finest nemesis he had ever fought soul against soul, and at the same time the dependable President — the lord of the castle — who had sent his social credit in the living world through the roof. There was no chance of his feeling one millimetre of fear.
How thoroughly Atem clocked out on the dot was famous in the company, but now and then there were days when he sat elegantly on the executive floor sofa past the appointed hour.
"Adviser Aten, are you still here?"
"Yes. Today I am waiting for Kaiba and Mokuba to finish their work."
Atem answered brightly, tilting the barley tea he had brewed with cold water from the luxury server (brought along in his own bottle).
When the roar of keystrokes from the President's office ceased and Seto and Mokuba emerged, Atem rose smartly.
"You are late, Kaiba. So the construction of your castle's systems is not the work of a single morning."
"Hmph. Do not lump me in with a man who rests his brain the moment the hour strikes! …We're going!"
Going straight from the office to amuse themselves, or eating together at some first-rate establishment Seto had arranged, had become their quiet daily habit.
Of course, since he came straight from the office, Atem was, as ever, deck not carried.
"Atem! You intend to get into my car unarmed again today!"
"There is nothing to be done, Kaiba. I do not confuse private matters with business by bringing a deck in during working hours. …Besides, today I have promised Mokuba a contest over the results of opening a new card game."
"Nngh…! You have grown skilled at nothing but sophistry…!"
To Seto, arms folded in ill humour in the car, Atem said, "Heh. My thanks for the hospitality," and took something from his pocket.
"Take it, Kaiba. The finest cold-brew barley tea bag currently available, with the fastest extraction, personally selected by me. Sink it in your mineral water overnight and a fragrance spreads as though blessed by the gods."
"…I do not want it!!"
Seto shot it down in an instant.
"As if I would accept a suspicious bag of weeds from you! Isono, turn up the air conditioning at once!"
"Aw, Nii-sama, just take it! Atem, can I have some later?"
"Yes. For Mokuba, two bags, especially."
The rite of presenting the barley tea bag was refused flatly nearly every time, but for Atem it was an entirely serious expression of gratitude — a Pharaoh's courtesy.
The man who had once dreaded a one-gigabyte cap and despaired on the floor of an illegally built apartment was nowhere to be found.
After five he spent meaningful hours with the finest rival and the Vice President; at weekends he did the rounds of card shops with Yugi and the others, and sometimes went a little further afield on a trip to a hot spring town.
The will and stamina that had once been worn down were fully charged, and his eyes shone almost dazzlingly at all times.
"Heh. The road of the living world is not to be dismissed either."
A Sunday evening. On the balcony in the wind, wearing a perfectly uncreased T-shirt pulled straight off the hanger, a mouthful of the highest-quality cold-brew barley tea.
An unshakeable position in the company, an ample take-home pay, friends who kept his company while being exasperated by him, and Seto Kaiba, who lost his temper as ever and was still the finest opponent there was.
The former Pharaoh had cleared the systems of the living world completely, and his brilliant, slightly slovenly, altogether finest "mindful living (sort of)" would go on from here with every wind behind it.
A bright day off without a cloud in the sky.
First thing in the morning, a ringtone like a tremor in the ground sounded from Atem's budget smartphone (unlimited data). On the screen: Seto Kaiba.
"Atem! Come to the domed Duel field at my house at once! We are test-playing the latest hologram projection unit, shipped in from overseas!"
The usual full-throttle intensity came through even over the phone. But Atem, rising elegantly from bed, sank a barley tea bag into cold water drawn from his prized luxury server and let out a quiet breath.
"My apologies, Kaiba. I have a prior engagement today. Leave the Duel for another occasion."
"What did you say!? You are my company's Special Adviser, and you would refuse Seto Kaiba's summons to a holy war! What business could you possibly have!"
"I am going to buy clothes."
"…Clothes?"
On the other end of the line, it was plain that Seto's thinking had come to a dead stop.
"The other day's salary brought in a substantial take-home. I cannot go on wearing nothing but clothes that look years worn. Keeping one's appearance in order is also a duty for one who has obtained social credit."
"…You…!"
Seto gripped the receiver, a vein standing at his temple.
——Hmph. Simply have him come here after he has bought the clothes. …No. Wait.
Inside Seto's high-spec brain, a terrible simulation unfolded at once.
Suppose he is satisfied with the shopping. "Hff. That was a good purchase."
He returns to the tower, summons cold-brew barley tea and takes a breath. "Right. Time to sleep in that deeply soft bed."
What awaits is a dead sleep in which the promise of a Duel has been entirely forgotten.
——…This is unmistakably the pattern where he forgets, goes straight home, drinks that barley tea of his and sleeps.
And then another fatal risk flashed through Seto's mind.
——And besides… what happens if he is turned loose to shop alone? With that far too distinctive taste of his. He is entirely capable of buying up studded leather belts and punk fashion clanking with metal chains, calling it 'the formal dress of a Pharaoh in the living world'! If my KaibaCorp's Special Strategic Adviser walks the streets looking like a suspicious person, it affects my company's share price!
It was a decision made in an instant.
"…Atem. Do not move."
"Mm?"
"A car is coming now. I shall accompany you on this shopping!"
"Oh? You will come along, Kaiba? That is reassuring."
Some tens of minutes later, an enormous jet-black limousine pulled up in front of Atem's tower.
Seto snorted at the sight of Atem climbing in. Not sagging any more, admittedly, but a plain T-shirt as ever.
"Kaiba, this is unusual for you. Accompanying someone shopping."
"Do not misunderstand! It is to prevent you buying suspicious studded clothing and lowering my company's dignity. And to have you escorted straight to my field the moment the shopping is done!"
"Heh. That is very like you. Then I leave it to you, fashion leader of the living world."
They arrived at a select shop, one of the very top in Domino City, gathering ultra-luxury brands.
The moment they stepped inside, the staff caught sight of Seto Kaiba and froze at attention.
Seto took Atem by the shoulder and swept the shop with a sharp gaze.
"Atem. Do not interject unnecessarily. I shall select them personally."
"Fine. I leave it to your taste. Only, clothes that restrict movement will not do. They would impede my leaving on time."
"If you have time to worry about leaving on time, look at the clothes in front of you!"
One after another Seto pulled refined, high-quality shirts and beautifully cut jackets from the racks and held them against Atem's body.
"How is this. …Hmph, the length is a little long. Bring this in a small."
"Ho… the texture of this fabric. It sits well against the skin."
"Naturally. It is a silk blend from a long-established Italian house. …And pair it with these plain trousers. Belts with studs or chains are not permitted under any circumstances!"
"I had no intention of buying such things in the first place…"
Every time Atem came out of the fitting room, the staff caught their breath. "I-it suits you perfectly…!"
He was a former Pharaoh whose features were outstandingly arranged to begin with. Wrapped in the chic, refined, expensive clothing Seto had selected, the aura of "a mysterious young genius executive" was perfectly complete.
"Good. No complaints now, I trust. An appearance beyond reproach for an officer of my company."
"My thanks, Kaiba. Everything you chose is superb, as one would expect."
At the counter, Atem smartly presented the platinum card he had obtained on the strength of the title KaibaCorp Special Adviser, which had arrived only days before.
"Payment with this, please."
"Heh… it seems you have learned to handle this thing called social credit, a little."
The shopping done, the two of them, hands full of luxury-brand paper bags, got back into the limousine.
"Well then, Kaiba. The finest clothes are secured. As promised, let us head for your castle."
"Hmph. Did you imagine I would let you slip away! My house's hologram system is of a different order today. Prepare yourself, Atem!"
The car was full of Seto's high laughter, his prime-era heat recovered, and Atem's fearless smile as he stroked the bags of well-tailored new clothes fondly.
Rocking in the back seat of the limousine with the heavy paper bags still in both arms, Atem happened to look out at the streets and clapped his hands together.
"That reminds me, Kaiba. Before we go to your castle, there is one more place I remembered I want to stop at."
"What…? At this stage you still intend to postpone the holy war with me!"
Seto's brows furrowed instantly; Atem, entirely unshaken, held out the screen of his budget smartphone (unlimited data).
"This. I saw it the other day on a television feature about living-world trends. The most popular shop in Domino City at present, for special parfaits and seasonal sweets. Apparently a long queue forms every day."
"…Sweets?"
What was on the screen was a photograph of a limited-edition parfait, plated as brilliantly as a jewel.
"Searching out a superb sweet that pairs with my prized cold-brew barley tea is an important phase of modern 'mindful living.' I have wanted to taste it at least once."
"Ridiculous! Who would go to a place swarming with the rabble of schoolgirls——"
Seto began to complain, then checked the route visible through the window and snorted in ill humour.
"…Hmph. It happens to be on the way to the Kaiba mansion. Isono!"
"Sir! Y-yes, sir!"
"Contact that shop immediately. Trading closes for this afternoon; have them declare an emergency 'special closing day.' Tell them compensation will be paid in full at the figure my company names."
"Understood, sir!"
"…Hm? Closing day?"
While Atem was tilting his head, Isono's skill cancelled every reservation the shop held, and a sign reading "Closed today for unforeseen reasons" was set up at the entrance.
When the car slid up outside, the popular shop, which by rights should have had a queue several hours long, was perfectly silent. Stepping boldly into the now privately booked interior, Atem murmured at the door.
"…Kaiba. I am extremely grateful, but I had wanted to enjoy the process of 'queueing and waiting one's turn' as part of it."
"…Queueing?"
Seto glared at Atem with the eyes of a man seeing something unbelievable.
"Are you sane? Why should anyone deliberately stand about for hours under a blazing sun! It is wasted time without a fragment of efficiency in it!"
"Is that not what amusement in the living world is? Precisely because one obtains it at the end of hardship, the sweetness is elevated to the supreme realm… something like the anticipation of a draw."
"What is that to me! Stop spouting ridiculous nonsense and choose!"
Seto dismissed it and sat down heavily in the VIP seat at the back, arms folded.
Presently there was carried out to Atem the limited seasonal parfait, into which the shop's chef had poured everything he had in answer to KaibaCorp's pressure (and its extraordinary compensation).
"Ho…! This is a magnificent structure (read: build)."
Atem's eyes lit up instantly.
He scooped up a mouthful and carried it to his lips, and the former Pharaoh's fine features loosened softly into a smile of bliss.
"Delicious…! The acidity of the fruit and the sweetness of the cream burst in the mouth like a perfectly calculated combo, Kaiba!"
"Hmph. Such theatrics over a lump of sugar and fruit…"
Seto turned away and said it coldly, but as he crossed his legs and tilted a glass of mineral water elegantly, his eyes flicked towards Atem.
Whatever had become of that incomprehensible insistence on wanting to queue, here was his rival, eyes sparkling, lost to everything but the parfait.
The man who a few months ago had worn a sagging T-shirt with dead-fish eyes, shrinking himself over tomorrow's food budget, now commanded the field Seto had prepared and was tasting the fruit of overwhelming capital with his whole body, without a care.
——Hmph. Ridiculous. But… no matter.
The very faintest fearless, satisfied smile, one no one would notice, came to Seto's lips.
"Kaiba! Will you have a mouthful? The flavour of the sauce at the bottom of this glass would go well with cold-brew barley tea made on your water server!"
"I decline! Your fixation on barley tea is abnormal! Finish eating. The next field is waiting for you, Atem!"
"Heh. I know."
Having savoured the sweet bliss to perfection, Atem wiped his mouth smartly with a napkin and straightened the sleeve of the superb jacket Seto had chosen for him.
Luxury-brand clothes in his hands, the finest sweets in his stomach, and in his pocket the deck he had grown fond of.
The modern survival of a Pharaoh who had obtained social credit, take-home pay and the finest of rivals continued today, too, in a mood of nothing less than total victory (read: win confirmed), on towards the Duel field at the Kaiba mansion.
Out of the shop, the two of them climbed into the limousine in high spirits.
"Right, Kaiba. The test play, as promised. Let us see this new hologram system of yours!"
"Hmph. You need not ask; I shall crush you. Prepare yourself, Atem!"
The King of Duelists and the genius President had reached their highest voltage… and it was at that very moment.
Beep-beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep.
A heavy electronic tone rang from Seto's breast pocket. KaibaCorp's dedicated emergency line.
The instant Seto saw the caller on the display, the air in the car changed completely. In a moment, the Duelist's face of a second before switched to the face of the cold head of a vast corporation.
"…It's me."
The moment Seto pressed the call button, a low, fluent language filled the car.
Not Japanese, not English. Some European language. The force in his tone, and the exchange of words at a speed the ear could not follow. On the other end, a senior officer at an overseas base, or perhaps a negotiator at the level of a state. As though he had dropped even Atem's existence from his awareness, Seto gazed out of the window with a sharp eye and hammered in instructions, precise and severe.
"…"
Sitting beside him, Atem watched this Seto, in perfect work mode, in silence.
His own past self, handing down immediate decisions in a national emergency as king of ancient Egypt, overlapped with Seto giving orders to the world as a modern lord of a castle. Rather than disappointment at a Duel withheld, Atem nodded deeply at his rival's proud way of working.
A few minutes later Seto cut the call short and let his back fall against the seat with a deep breath.
"…Atem. Today's Duel is postponed."
"Yes. I do not mind. It appears to be an emergency."
"Hmph. An unforeseen problem at the European server base. I must connect to the site directly and issue commands. …Isono! Change the route. Take Atem to his building first, then straight to headquarters!"
"Sir! Understood!"
The car turned smoothly.
From his pocket Atem quietly drew out the finest cold-brew barley tea bag (special selection), which he had slipped in for today, and made to press it into Seto's palm.
"Kaiba. This sudden work will be hard on you, so take this with you. My thanks for today's clothes and the parfait. When you reach your building, sink it in mineral water and——"
"I do not want it!!"
Seto pushed Atem's hand back at once. A perfect refusal, without a trace of hesitation.
"As if I would walk into an emergency conference carrying a suspicious bag of weeds! Sit quietly in your own rooms and sip it yourself!"
"Heh… you are as stubborn a man as ever."
Atem returned the barley tea bag to his pocket with a wry smile; Seto was already working the terminal, typing out his next instructions. When the car stopped in front of Atem's tower, Seto glanced at him once.
"…Atem. Next time I will not let you go."
"Yes. I am waiting, whenever you like."
A glance exchanged for an instant. That alone was enough.
The limousine carrying Seto ran off like the wind into the towers of Domino City as dusk came on.
Back in his quiet room, Atem set the paper bags down on the living room sofa with a thump.
"Hff… another fulfilling day."
Atem drank a mouthful of cold water from the luxury server and promptly took out the luxury-brand clothes Seto had chosen for him.
A jacket with a refined silhouette, a shirt pleasant against the skin, fine trousers.
Splendid articles, all of them recognisable as the real thing at a glance.
"Good. Let us store these away."
Ordinarily, the proper course for expensive clothes is to fold them carefully into a closet drawer, or to put them into a dedicated garment bag.
But for a former Pharaoh who went on clearing the systems of the living world by his own methods, no such wasteful phase existed.
Click. Click.
One by one, without hesitation, Atem hung the new clothes back on hangers.
And without putting them away in the closet, he hung them boldly, just as they were, on the rack where the breeze from the balcony passed through.
"Heh… a perfect arrangement (read: build)."
No folding. No putting away. Once dry, or straight from where it hangs, pull it out and put it on——
However high-class the social credit he obtained, however expensive the branded clothes he put on, the rational style at his core — the straight-off-the-hanger rotation school of "mindful living (sort of)" — did not waver in the slightest.
"Now then… let us adjust the deck as well, in preparation for Kaiba's challenge."
Stroking once, fondly, the finest of jackets swaying on its hanger, Atem took his prized cold-brew barley tea in hand and passed another calm and proud night in his own sacred territory.
Another day off.
Under Domino City's crisp autumn sky, Atem met Yugi, Joey, Tristan and Téa at the station for the first time in a while.
"Hey, everyone. Sorry to keep you."
When Atem arrived, the first to react was Téa, who had an eye for fashion.
"Oh, Atem! That's a gorgeous jacket you've got on today! It's so elegant, and it really suits you!"
"She's right! What's this, Atem, you're seriously sharp today — you look like a model!?"
Joey circled round and round him enviously.
A fine, chic jacket and beautifully cut trousers. At the refinement of it, Yugi and Tristan praised him too. "You look really good, other me!"
Without a hint of embarrassment, Atem stroked the hem of the jacket proudly.
"Heh. You see it, then. It wears rather well, does it not? Kaiba chose this for me the other day, when I went to buy clothes."
"…Huh?"
Every one of them stopped dead, perfectly.
"Kai… ba…?"
Joey asked it back with a face gone stiff.
"Kaiba… chose your clothes…?"
"Yes. When I was about to go shopping alone, Kaiba went to the trouble of coming to collect me by car. At the select shop he chose several things for me, saying, 'This is fitting for an officer of my company.'"
Atem revealed it lightly, as though it were nothing, and the air around him turned to permafrost.
——Th-that Seto Kaiba… went to collect Atem in his private time… and chose his clothes…!?
Never dreaming that the motives were a fear that Atem, left alone, might buy studded clothing, and a plan to escort him straight to a Duel afterwards, his friends recoiled from the bottom of their hearts. At Seto's far too unexpected behaviour, and at the mysterious closeness of an Atem who related happily that Kaiba had chosen them for him.
"H-hey, Yugi… what kind of relationship have those two got going where we can't see it…?"
"D-don't ask me, Joey…"
Pulling themselves together, the group headed for the much-talked-about sweets shop with the famous queue, which Téa had wanted to visit for some time.
As expected on a day off, the shop was doing a roaring trade, and a long queue stood outside.
"Wow, it really is packed…! We'll have to resign ourselves to queueing today."
Téa gave a wry smile and made to join the back of the line, and it was then.
"…Ah, sir! From the other day…!"
A member of staff directing people at the door caught sight of Atem's face, opened her eyes wide and hurried over.
"You're the special guest who came with President Kaiba! Have you all come together today? Please, please, this way! We'll have the VIP room ready at once!"
"Is that all right? We do not mind queueing."
"Absolutely not! Please, this way!"
Atem's modest wish to try queueing was passed over without ceremony, and by the staff's far too perfect arrangements, the five of them were smoothly conducted past the long queue into a lavish, privately reserved VIP room.
Sitting on a deeply soft sofa with the menu open, Téa fixed Atem with a stiff smile, as though interrogating him.
"Um… Atem. The staff said 'the other day, with President Kaiba'… when did you come here?"
"Mm? On the way back from having Kaiba choose my clothes."
Atem revealed it lightly again, without lifting his eyes from the menu.
"Kaiba thoughtfully had the shop reserved for us. The two of us ate the special parfait there."
"…"
A perfect silence descended on the room.
Arranging to meet on a day off and coming to collect him by car. Coordinating his outfit. Reserving a popular sweets shop on the way home and eating parfaits together…
Too perfect… It was a date itinerary that was far too perfect.
Joey, Tristan, Téa and even Yugi replayed the scene in their heads and went entirely over capacity. The picture of that cold, arrogant Seto Kaiba picking at a parfait in a sweets shop alone with Atem was nothing but terrifying.
"Atem… were you… you know… did you enjoy it? With Kaiba…?"
"Yes, it was truly delicious. Kaiba spat out that it was sickly sweet, mind you. I wanted you all to experience that combo of a flavour as well."
At an answer so utterly innocent and so utterly beside the point, the group exchanged glances that said, "Let's not pursue this any further," and quietly withdrew.
But faced with the brilliant desserts that were brought out, the awkward air blew away in a moment.
"Whoaaa! What is this strawberry tower! It's amazing!"
"Honestly, getting in without queueing — we came out ahead there!"
The group grew boisterous and enjoyed the finest dessert hour at full strength. Atem's heart leapt too at the lively table with his friends around it, and a smile bloomed on his face.
The good time passed in no time at all, and as they left the shop and were about to part.
Atem took from his bag the finest cold-brew barley tea bags (special selection), which he had been carrying carefully about with him, and held them out to everyone.
"My thanks for today, everyone. The finest barley tea bags, personally selected by me. Do sink one in cold water at home overnight and try it."
"Oh, thanks, Atem! Barley tea, huh — I'll take it, gratefully!"
"Ooh, barley tea recommended by Atem! I'm looking forward to trying it!"
The sad barley tea bag, dismissed by Seto every time with an instant "I do not want it!!", was received by his kind friends with perfectly ordinary smiles. "Heh. Those who understand, understand after all," Atem thought, secretly savouring a deep satisfaction.
"Until next time, everyone. Let us do this again."
Wearing the finest of newly acquired jackets, with his friends' warm friendship and the certain social credit hidden in his pocket held close.
The former Pharaoh, who had cleared the systems of the living world completely, set off home with a light step to his prized sacred territory (read: the tower), where clothes waited to be worn straight from the hanger tonight as well.
